December 24
Events * 563 - The Byzantine church Hagia Sophia in Constantinople is inaugurated for the second time after being destroyed by earthquakes. * 640 - John IV becomes Pope. *1294 - Pope Boniface VIII is elected Pope, replacing St. Celestine V, who had abdicated. *1515 - Thomas Wolsey is named the English Lord Chancellor. *1777 - Kiritimati, also called Christmas Island, was discovered by James Cook. *1800 - Assassination attempt on Napoleon Bonaparte's life. *1814 - The Treaty of Ghent was signed which ended the War of 1812. *1818 - "Silent Night" composed by Franz Xaver Gruber and Josef Mohr. *1851 - Library of Congress burns. *1865 - Several US Civil War Confederate veterans form the Ku Klux Klan. *1888 - Vincent Van Gogh cuts off his ear during some sort of seizure. *1906 - Radio: Reginald Fessenden transmitted the first radio broadcast. The first program, consisted of a poetry reading, a violin solo, and a speech. *1914 - World War I: The "Christmas truce" begins. *1924 - Albania becomes a republic. *1929 - Assassination attempt of Argentine President Hipólito Yrigoyen. *1939 - World War II: Pope Pius XII makes a Christmas Eve appeal for peace. *1941 - World War II: Hong Kong falls to the Japanese Imperial Army. * 1941 - World War II: Kuching is conquered by Japanese forces. *1942 - World War II: French monarchist, Fernand Bonnier de La Chapelle, assassinates Vichy French Admiral François Darlan in Algiers *1943 - World War II: U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower becomes the Supreme Allied Commander. *1946 - France's Fourth Republic founded. *1951 - Libya becomes independent from Italy. Idris I is proclaimed King of Libya. *1953 - Tangiwai disaster: A railway bridge collapse at Tangiwai, New Zealand sends a fully loaded passenger train into the Whangaehu River, killing 153 people. * 1953 - NBC's Dragnet becomes the first network-sponsored television program. *1954 - Laos becomes independent. *1966 - A Canadair CL-44 chartered by the United States military crashes into a small village in South Vietnam, killing 129. *1968 - The crew of the [[Wikipedia:USS Pueblo (AGER-2)|USS Pueblo]] is released by North Korea after being held for 11 months on suspicion of spying. * 1968 - Apollo Program: The crew of ''Apollo 8'' enter into orbit around the Moon, becoming the first humans to do so. They performed 10 lunar orbits and broadcast live TV pictures that became the famous Christmas Eve Broadcast, one of the most watched programs in history. *1974 - Cyclone Tracy devastates Darwin, Australia. *1979 - The Soviet Union invades Afghanistan to support the country's Marxist government. * 1979 - The first European Ariane rocket is launched. *1987 - Japanese legendary rock band BOØWY declares their breakup at the Shibuya Kokaido. *1990 - Wedding from Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise. *1997 - The Sid El-Antri massacre (or Sidi Lamri) in Algeria kills 50-100 people. * 1997 - The Dominican Republic becomes a member of the Berne Convention copyright treaty. *2000 - The Texas 7 holds up a sports store in Irving. Police officer Aubrey Hawkins is shot during the robbery. *2002 - The New Delhi Metro opens. *2003 - The Spanish police thwart an attempt by ETA to detonate 50 kg of explosives at 3:55 p.m. inside Madrid's busy Chamartín Station. Births *1166 - King John of England (d. 1216) *1389 - John VI (d. 1442) *1475 - Thomas Murner, German writer (d.c. 1537) *1491 - Ignatius of Loyola, Spanish founder of the Jesuit order (d. 1556) *1508 - Pietro Carnesecchi, Italian humanist (d. 1567) *1588 - Constance of Austria, queen of Poland (d. 1631) *1609 - Philip Warwick, English writer and politician (d. 1683) *1635 - Mariana of Austria, second wife of king Philip IV of Spain (d. 1696) *1698 - William Warburton, English Bishop of Gloucester (d. 1779) *1724 - Johann Conrad Ammann, Swiss physician and naturalist (d. 1811) *1754 - George Crabbe, English poet and naturalist (d. 1832) *1761 - Jean-Louis Pons, French astronomer (d. 1831) *1798 - Adam Mickiewicz, Polish poet (d. 1855) *1809 - Kit Carson, American frontiersman (d. 1868) *1812 - Karl Eduard Zachariae, German jurist (d. 1894) *1818 - James Prescott Joule, British physicist (d. 1889) *1822 - Matthew Arnold, English poet (d. 1888) *1837 - Elisabeth of Bavaria a.k.a Sissi, Empress of Austria (d. 1898) *1843 - Lydia Koidula, Estonian poet (d. 1886) *1845 - King George I of Greece (d. 1913) *1867 - Kantaro Suzuki, 42nd Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1948) *1868 - Emanuel Lasker, German chess player (d. 1941) *1879 - Queen Alexandrine of Denmark, Queen Consort to Christian X (d. 1952) * 1879 - Émile Nelligan, Quebec poet (d. 1941) *1880 - Johnny Gruelle, American cartoonist, children's book writer and creator of Raggedy Ann (d. 1939) *1881 - Juan Ramón Jiménez, Spanish writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1958) *1886 - Michael Curtiz, Hungarian-born director (d. 1962) *1887 - Louis Jouvet, French actor and producer (d. 1951) *1893 - Harry Warren, American composer and lyricist (Chattanooga Choo Choo - I Only Have Eyes for You) (d. 1981) *1894 - Georges Guynemer, French aviator (d. 1917) *1895 - E. Roland Harriman, American financier (d. 1978) *1898 - Héctor Scarone, Uruguayan footballer (d. 1967) * 1898 - Baby Dodds, American jazz drummer (d. 1959) *1900 - Joey Smallwood, Canadian politician, Premier of Newfoundland (d. 1991) *1905 - Howard Hughes, American film producer and inventor (d. 1976) *1906 - Franz Waxman, German film composer (d. 1967) *1910 - Fritz Leiber, American writer (d. 1992) *1914 - Herbert Reinecker, German writer *1917 - Kim Jong-suk, Wife of Kim Il-sung, mother of Kim Jung-Il, "The Heroine of the Anti-Japanese Revolution" (d. 1949) *1920 - Evgeniya Rudneva, Russian World War II heroine (d. 1944) *1922 - Ava Gardner, American actress (d. 1990) *1923 - George Patton IV, American general (d. 2004) * 1923 - Michael DiBiase, American wrestler (d. 1969) *1924 - Lee Dorsey, American singer (d. 1986) * 1924 - Grigory Kriss, Russian Olympic champion fencer *1925 - Mohd. Rafi, Indian actor and playback singer (d. 1980) *1926 - Paul Buissonneau, French-born Quebec theatre director *1929 - Mary Higgins Clark, American author *1931 - Mauricio Kagel, Argentine composer * 1931 - Ray Bryant, American jazz pianist and composer *1932 - On Kawara, Japanese conceptual artist *1937 - Félix Miéli Venerando, Brazilian football player *1938 - Bobby Henrich, American baseball player * 1938 - Valentim Loureiro, Portuguese politician, and former football chairman of Boavista F.C. and Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Profissional *1941 - John Levene, British actor *1943 - Tarja Halonen, President of Finland *1944 - Daniel Johnson, Quebec politician, Premier of Quebec * 1944 - Mike Curb, American musician, record company executive and politician * 1944 - Oswald Gracias, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Bombay * 1944 - Barry Chuckle, British comedian *1945 - Lemmy, British singer, bassist (Motörhead) * 1945 - Nicholas Meyer, American author *1946 - Brenda Howard, American bisexual activist (d. 2005) * 1946 - Jeff Sessions, American politician *1947 - Kevin Sheedy, coach of Australian Football League club Essendon FC * 1948 - Frank Oliver, New Zealand rugby player *1949 - Randy Neugebauer, American politician * 1949 - Warwick Brown, Australian racing driver *1950 - Dana Gioia, American poet *1951 - John D'Acquisto, baseball player *1953 - François Loos, French politician * 1954 - José María Figueres, Costa Rican politician *1955 - Grand L. Bush, American actor * 1955 - Clarence Gilyard, American actor *1957 - Hamid Karzai, President of Afghanistan * 1957 - Diane Tell, Quebec singer *1958 - Munetaka Higuchi, Japanese drummer *1959 - Keith Deller, English darts player * 1959 - Anil Kapoor, Indian actor *1960 - Glenn McQueen, American animator *1960 - Carol Vorderman, British television presenter *1961 - Ilham Aliyev, President of Azerbaijan Republic *1963 - Mary Ramsey, American singer (10,000 Maniacs) *1966 - Diedrich Bader, American actor *1967 - Mikhail Shchennikov, Russian race walker *1968 - Doyle Bramhall II, American guitarist *1969 - Mark Millar, Scottish comic book writer *1970 - Amaury Nolasco, American actor * 1970 - Will Oldham, American singer and songwriter *1971 - Christopher Daniels, American professional wrestler * 1971 - Ricky Martin, Puerto Rican singer * 1971 - Giorgos Alkaios, Greek singer *1972 - Alvaro Mesen, Costa Rican footballer *1973 - Eddie Pope, American soccer player *1973 - Stephenie Meyer, Author *1974 - Marcelo Salas, Chilean footballer * 1974 - Ryan Seacrest, American television host *1978 - Yıldıray Baştürk, Turkish footballer *1979 - Chris Hero, American professional wrestler *1980 - Tomas Kalnoky, American musician (Streetlight Manifesto) *1981 - Dima Bilan, Karachay-Russian pop artist *1982 - Aiba Masaki, Japanese singer and actor *1985 - David Ragan, American race car driver *1986 - Edward Southall, English composer * 1986 - Riyo Mori, Miss Universe 2007 from Japan Deaths * 427 - Archbishop Sisinnius I of Constantinople * 820 - Leo V, Byzantine Emperor (assassinated) (b. 775) *1257 - John I (b. 1218) *1453 - John Dunstaple, English composer (bc. 1390) *1524 - Vasco da Gama, Portuguese explorer (bc. 1469) *1660 - Mary (b. 1631) *1707 - Noël Coypel, French painter (b. 1628) *1813 - Empress Go-Sakuramachi of Japan (b. 1740) *1863 - William Makepeace Thackeray, English writer (b. 1811) *1865 - Sir Charles Lock Eastlake, English painter and writer (b. 1793) *1868 - Adolphe d'Archiac, French paleontologist and geologist (b. 1802) *1872 - William John Macquorn Rankine, Scotish physician and engenier (b. 1820) *1873 - Johns Hopkins, Baltimore philanthropist and businessman (b. 1795) *1889 - Jan Jakob Lodewijk ten Kate, Dutch poet and clergyman (b. 1819) *1898 - Sharbel Makhluf, Lebanese monk canonized in 1977 by Pope Paul VI (b. 1828) *1914 - John Muir, Scottish-born naturalist (b. 1838) *1935 - Alban Berg, Austrian composer (b. 1885) *1938 - Bruno Taut, German architect (b. 1880) *1941 - Siegfried Alkan, German composer (b. 1858) *1942 - François Darlan, vice-premier of Vichy France (b. 1881) *1957 - Norma Talmadge, American actress (b. 1894) *1972 - Gisela Richter, English art historian (b. 1882) * 1972 - Melville Ruick, American actor (b. 1898) *1975 - Bernard Herrmann, American film composer (b. 1911) *1976 - Duarte Nuno, heir to the throne of Portugal (b. 1907) *1977 - Samael Aun Weor, Columbian writer (b. 1917) *1980 - Karl Dönitz, President of Germany (b. 1891) * 1980 - Siggie Nordstrom, model, actress, entertainer, socialite and lead singer of The Nordstrom Sisters (b. 1893) *1982 - Louis Aragon, French writer (b. 1897) *1984 - Peter Lawford, English actor (b. 1923) *1985 - Robert Todd Lincoln Beckwith, Last Lincoln descendant (b. 1904) *1986 - Gardner Fox, American writer (b. 1911) *1987 - Joop den Uyl, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (b. 1919) * 1987 - M. G. Ramachandran, Chief Minister of the Tamil Nadu (b. 1917) *1990 - Thorbjørn Egner, Norwegian author (b. 1922) *1992 - Peyo, Belgian comics artist, and creator of The Smurfs (b. 1928) * 1992 - Bobby LaKind, American musician and singer (The Doobie Brothers) (b. 1945) *1993 - Norman Vincent Peale, American writer (b. 1898) *1994 - John Boswell, American historian (b. 1947) * 1994 - Rossano Brazzi, Italian actor and singer (b. 1916) *1997 - Toshirô Mifune, Japanese actor (b. 1920) * 1997 - Pierre Péladeau, Quebec businessman, founder of Quebecor (b. 1925) *1999 - João Baptista de Oliveira Figueiredo, President of Brazil (b. 1918) * 1999 - Maurice Couve de Murville, French politician, Prime minister of France (b. 1907) * 1999 - Bill Bowerman, American track and field coach *2000 - Nick Massi, American singer (The Four Seasons) (b. 1935) *2002 - Kjell Aukrust, Norwegian author (b. 1920) * 2002 - Laci Peterson, American murder victim (b. 1975) *2004 - Johnny Oates, baseball player and manager (b. 1946) *2005 - Michael Vale, American commercial actor (b. 1922) *2006 - "Braguinha", Brazilian songwriter (b. 1907) * 2006 - Kenneth Sivertsen, Norwegian singer, poet and comedian (b. 1961) * 2006 - Frank Stanton, American television executive (b. 1908) Holidays and observances *December 24 is celebrated as the day before Christmas, thus called Christmas Eve. *Calendar of saints: Feast of Saint Adela and Saint Irmina. *It is the day when food is traditionally set out for Santa Claus and his reindeer. Children around the world are urged to go to bed early so they are not awake when he arrives. *In Portugal, Germany, Switzerland, Hungary, Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Iceland, Norway, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and the Dominican Republic, among others, this is the day that presents are exchanged and opened. *The Declaration of Christmas Peace takes place in the Old Great Square of Turku, Finland's official Christmas City, according to old traditions dating back to the Middle Ages. External links * BBC: On This Day * * On This Day in Canada ---- Category:December